Striving to See and Live Life from God's Perspective

Post navigation

Fools Twist the Truth – Proverbs 26:9

Proverbs 26:9 As a thorn goeth up into the hand of a drunkard, so is a parable (proverb) in the mouth of fools.

Fool (H3684) – stupid, silly, mindless. From Proverbs we know the following about a fool:

The Fool’s Parents

He is heaviness, sorrow, and bitterness to his mother (10:1; 17:21, 25)

He despises his mother (15:20)

The father of a fool has grief and no joy; the fool is his father’s calamity (17:21, 25; 18:13)

The Fool’s Character Traits

He hates knowledge (1:7)

His foolishness is folly (14:24)

His folly is deceit (14:8)

He rages and is his confident in his sin (14:16)

He is unteachable (17:10, 23:9)

He has no heart for wisdom (17:16)

He has no delight in understanding, but delights in discovering his own heart (18:2)

He is not worthy of pleasantness or honor (19:10; 26:1, 8)

He trusts his own heart (28:26)

The Fool’s Activities

He lies and slanders others (10:18)

He does mischief for sport (fun) (10:23)

He speaks his mind (14:33, 29:11)

His mouth feeds on foolishness (15:14)

He loves to argue, and is cause for his discipline (18:6)

He does not impart knowledge to others (15:7)

He does not depart from sin; it is an abomination for him to depart (13:19)

He lays open his folly (13:16)

He returns to his folly (26:11)

The Fool’s End

He is promoted through his own shame (3:35)

His companions are destroyed, because of keeping company with him (13:20)

His eyes are in the ends of the earth. He looks anywhere and everywhere except to God to fulfill his heart’s desires and thus is unstable(17:24)

His mouth is his destruction and the snare of his soul (18:7)

He will be punished (21:20; 26:3,10)

Proverbs 26:9 is one of a series of observations about fools, Proverb 26:1-12. After seeing the fool’s parents, his activities, and his end, it is easy to see why a proverb or parable taught by him is completely out of context and is like thorn piercing into the drunkard’s hand. He is out of touch with reality. He is in darkness (Eccel. 2:14). He twists something good and makes it something harmful to himself and the others who hear him. He lacks the ability to deal successfully with life and communicate truth because he has rejected the very wisdom and knowledge that would make him successful.

As Christians, we can act foolish, but let’s not. By God’s grace let’s be the opposite of the fool. Take some time to go through the above list and consider the opposite of the fool’s parents, his activities, his character traits, and his end is and you will have a pretty good idea of the wise man’s parents, character, activities, and end (Note the opposites are not necessarily inspired truth). Ask the Lord to help you in three specific ways to help you live more wisely for Him. Let’s ask ourselves, "Do others see me as acting foolishly or wisely? How would God say I behave myself? Do I impart wisdom when I speak, unlike the fool?"